How an N.Y. officer took a spiral downward

By ELIZABETH SOLOMONT, Special to the Sun

Copyright 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLCAll Rights Reserved

Police Officer Kirsix De La Cruz needed money for a class to prepare for the sergeant's exam last summer, so prosecutors say she asked her uncle for a few thousand dollars. She allegedly wound up repaying the uncle by helping him rob a drug dealer.

Federal prosecutors say Ms. De La Cruz, 33, introduced her uncle to a drug dealer who knew where other dealers kept their drug stashes. The uncle was arrested last July and has been cooperating with an FBI investigation of his niece. His name was not released.